EXPAND TO READ: 2 THESSALONIANS 2 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 1-2): These two verses directly spoke to my heart. Although not related to the returning of Christ to me when I felt them speaking to me, the part that says “we ask you, brothers, not to be easily upset in mind or troubled” spoke clearly and loudly to me. I am easily upset and troubled most of the time. I don’t know why, but I do still sometimes get upset at even the slightest of things. I get frustrated, don’t really know how to respond or react, and then anger and irritability of my old self begins to creep back in. So far, thanks to Your strength, the frequency of this sinful nature of mine has been reduced drastically. I ask for Your forgiveness for still getting upset and troubled in my mind even though I know that You are always there with me. I ask that You forgive me for sometimes delving back into my old self instead of always living in the new self You have given me. Please continue to build me up, Father, so that my new self becomes my default in all situations.
PROMISE (verse 16): Paul always gives some type of insight as to a promise of Yours. Here he tells us that You have loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace. Your grace is sufficient and I need to remember this always. Through all of the mistakes I’ve made and will likely make in the future plus all of the mistakes those around me have made and will continue to make, Your grace is always sufficient. You have always loved me and provided me with encouragement and hope even when I was too stubborn to recognize and accept it. Thank You for never giving up on me, Father.
ATTITUDE (verses 13, 17): These two verses really hit close to home for me. At the start of verse 13, Paul writes to the Thessalonians that “we must always thank God for you.” Then he writes to them that his hope in the Lord is that He will encourage their hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. Help me to truly embrace these attitudes of thankfulness, encouragement, and strength through, to, and from You, Father. Help me to be better at walking in these attributes daily and through all things, so that I am always thankful for You, I am always feeling Your encouragement, and I am always leaning on You for Your strength.
COMMAND (verses 2-3): I do see a lot of this in the world, especially as technology has made us far more connected than ever before. The command here is for us to never be deceived by others about Your return. Nobody in this life knows truly of when exactly You are returning, just that You will return to us one day and that will bring Your glorious kingdom to earth. Help me to not give into the deceptions of this world, Father, so that I may follow this command as well as remain faithful to Your truth and Your word.
EXAMPLE (verse 15): It’s amazing how a single verse gives so much value. In this verse, Paul tells the Thessalonians to stand firm in their faith and to hold onto the traditions they were taught either by the message given to them or by the letters Paul wrote. If we are learning Your truth and Your word, then we must stand firm in our faith and hold onto what You have taught us. I have lacked in this quite a bit in my life since coming to faith. I have embraced a LOT of head knowledge from You but have frequently failed to allow that head knowledge to traverse to my heart. This has led me down many unfortunate rabbit trails in my spiritual journey that I am not proud of, unfortunately. I know that with my newly renewed relationship with You, however, that the highway between my head knowledge and embracing it into my heart is finally allowing traffic to flow through, which has produced many great fruits in my life. Thank You for the works You’ve done in me, Father, now that I am finally allowing my head knowledge to be embraced in my heart and in my life.
*DAILY NOTE: Yet another extremely short chapter in one of Paul’s writings, but also so much to learn from. Thank You for today’s conversation, Father. Thank You for speaking to me directly right off the bat after my opening prayer. I prayed for Your help with my frustrations, anger, and irritability before reading this chapter and the very start of this tells me to not be easily upset in mind or troubled. Even when I am struggling, You are always there to speak to me. Even when I am a little down, You are always there to lift me up. Even when I am concerned and worried about my weaknesses, You are there to give me strength. Thank You for always being there for me, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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